Demeter (Olympian) (Earth-616)
Ceres, Meter, Doso | Identity = No Dual | Affiliation = Gods of Olympus | Relatives = Category:Demeter FamilyCronus (father);Category:Cronus Family Rhea (mother);Category:Rhea Family Poseidon, Hades (brothers); Zeus (brother Persephone (daughter); Hercules, Ares, Hephaestus, Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus (nephews); Venus, Athena, Artemis Hebe, Discord, Helen (nieces); Dione, Metis, Achelous (cousins) | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = Olympus | Gender = Female | Height = | Weight = | Eyes = Blue | Hair = Black | UnusualFeatures = | Citizenship = Olympian | MaritalStatus = Married | Occupation = Goddess of grain, the harvest and earth Category:Harvest DeitiesCategory:Earth Deities | Education = | Origin = Olympian | PlaceOfBirth = Olympus | Creators = Roy Thomas; John Buscema | First = Avengers #50 | First2 = (unnamed) | HistoryText = Origin Conflicting statements exist about Demeter's origin: * According to Pluto, she was the Earth goddess Gaea. * According to legends, Demeter was the second daughter of the Titan deities Cronus and Rhea, and consequently granddaughter to Gaea. Early years Fearing that he would be dethroned by one of his offspring just as he had overthrown his own father Ouranos, Cronus had his own offspring (Pluto, Neptune, Demeter, Vestla -or Hestia- and Hera, save for her sixth child Zeus who was hidden by Rhea in Crete) either: * according to legends, imprisoned his own offspring Hades, the Olympian underworld, from where Zeus freed them. * according to Cronus' himself, swallowed his children them as they emerged from Rhea's womb, and that they remained alive inside him until Zeus released them by poisoning the cup of Cronus, forcing him to vomit his siblings. Titanomachy Zeus along with Demeter, Hera, Neptune, Pluto and Vestla fought a war with the Titans (known as the Titanomachy) which ended with Zeus's victory, helped by Gaea. They imprisoned most of the Titans in Tartarus. Despite neither Demeter nor her sister Vestla ever deigned to rule, Zeus establishing all his sibling and potential rivals to some responsibility positions, with Demeter watching over the land, Zeus made himself as monarch of the Olympus and the Olympian gods and could rule a peaceful Olympus. An alternate account from Poseidon states the surface was equally shared between him, Zeus and Pluto. Demeter became the Goddess of Harvest, Agriculture, and Fertility, and would often visit mortals and teach them the necessary skills of agriculture. Since her older sister, Vestla, chose to remain an eternal virgin, she was the first goddess who caught the romantic attentions of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, especially since she was beautiful in her own right, kind-hearted, and an excellent cook. However, Demeter turned down all their proposals of marriage, for she preferred to devote herself to her duties as the Goddess of the Harvest and Fertility. Relationship with Zeus However, there came a time where Zeus was determined to court Demeter. Despite a shape-shifting struggle between the two, Zeus successfully seduced Demeter after transforming into a serpent. They enjoyed a relationship that resulted in Demeter's first child: a very beautiful daughter named Persephone. Though the affair later ended, Demeter was still happy, for she loved her daughter dearly. Persephone grew up without want, always by the side of her mother, who shared some of her power over the earth with her, and she eventually became the Goddess of Springtime and Flowers. In fact, Demeter loved Persephone so dearly that she viewed her as the light of her life, and took to spending all of her time with her. Abduction of Persephone While Demeter loved all of her children dearly, Persephone remained her favorite child of all, the one whom she took to spending whatever free time she had with. Due to her great beauty, Persephone was often desired by many gods, but Demeter would would never allow it. The god Hades fell in love with her and obtained permission from Zeus to take her as a bride without telling Demeter. In fact, Zeus is reputed to have suggested abduction to keep Demeter from knowing the truth. Abducted while in the presence of her friends the Sirens, Persephone was taken against her will to Tartarus where she pined for her mother and refused to eat. Demeter mourned for her daughter for ten days before Hecate, looking to make trouble for Hades, told her the truth. As a result of this, a grief-stricken and wrathful Demeter commanded the earth to become barren and infertile until her daughter was returned to her (this in turn induced autumn, and then winter). Upon seeing the starvation and anguish of the mortals due to Demeter's curse on the earth, Zeus was forced to order Hades to return Persephone to her mother. Unfortunately, while in the underworld, Persephone fasted by eating three pomegranate seeds. As Zeus arbitrated the case, Persephone was required to spend parts of the year on Olympus and Hades. Demeter also punished the Sirens for not reporting the abduction, by transforming them into birds and imprisoned them on Anthemoessa. Modern days Demeter was seemingly imprisoned in Hades when the Titan Typhon returned, and she was seen celebrating along with the other gods after they were freed by Hercules. Persephone used to used to visit her mother, during which such time Pluto put schemes in order against the Fantastic Four. She was later present at the funeral of Hercules. | Powers = | Abilities = | Strength = Like all Olympians, Demeter is superhumanly strong. Her strength is about average for an Olympian female and she can lift about 25 tons. | Weaknesses = | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = | Trivia = | Marvel = | Wikipedia = | Links = }} Category:Mythological Figures Category:Nature Deities Category:Vegetation Deities Category:Agriculture Deities Category:Gaea Family